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City Diary: all change at the Bank

The Old Bank of England has been sold for an estimated £8 million to £9 millionHoberman Collection/Getty Images

• An unexpected changing of the guard is in prospect at one of the City’s most beautiful watering holes. The freehold of the Old Bank of England on Fleet Street, which was converted into a pub by Fuller’s in 1994, has been sold to the Hertfordshire brewer McMullen & Sons for an estimated £8 million to £9 million.

Although the Fuller’s lease does not expire until December 2018, McMullen, which has snapped up five freehold pubs in the past few months, including three in London, is planning to take over the running of the hostelry as soon as the lease ends, forcing the London brewer to move out of one its most popular City hostelries.

Its latest acquisition has a rich history. During the 16th…

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